The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-04-08
EUROPEAN PROJECTION.
What 1t u Dolng s0P the Different Power
Of EurOpe-kngland's Reteogrsssion.


Colonel A. L. Conger. member Of the
Republican National Committee for
Ohio. has just returned from a two
months trip in Europe for his health.
He has been chairman of the Ohio Re-
publican Committee, Commander OF
the Ohio Department. G. A. r.. and is
one of the men who is counted among
the future Gubernatorial possibilities
of his State, in which he is a leading
business man. He is at the head of the
Whitman & Barnes Manufacturing
Company, which makes mower and
reaper knives and sicklcs, and has fac
tories in five or six States besides
one at St GATHERINGS, Can. Colonel
Conger made some observations in Eu-
rope to which he gave expression in an
interview as follows:
"My observations abroad have in.
tensiiied and greatly strengthened
my views in favor of a strong pro-
tective tariff for this country as a
broad principle of sound government
al policy upon which the Government
should be run in order to derive
the greatest good for the greatest
number. l am satisfied from what
saw that We have no need of going
into free trade to sustain our position
among the nations of the world. We
can MAINTAIN the present powerful
position that we hold if we still MAIN
tain our tariff, and we would not bet
ter ourselves by throwing it over.
The necessity for a reduction of the
revenue can best be met by making a
tariff in certain directions that will be
prohibitive and thus cut off the reve-
nue. l found, OH investigation. that
England is to-day paying higher
wages than France. Germany or
Italy. As a consequence. she no
longer holds her ruling position in
trade and manufacture. Germany has
become her competitor already, and
the manufacturers of Germany can
compete with the manufacturers of
England in nearly every line and
branch of business. The English peo-
pie are feeling this difference keenly.
1t has resulted in a strong sentiment
growing up among English manu-
facturers, who told me that England
must speedily adopt a protective tariff
policy in sheer self-preservation.
II think from what saw and heard
that it is safe to predict that England
will adopt such policy, because other
wise she will be obliged to reduce the
wages of her workers to the basis of
wages in Germany. which would be dis
astrous to Great Britain in the further
impoverishment of her lahorers, whose
condition is already very low. The
fact can not be disguised that free
trade for America means that the
wages here must at once be re-
duced and put upon the level of
countries with which we might seek to
compete under free trade. Under our
present system we are fast building up
every branch Of manufactures by rea-
son of the improved quality of labor
and the better class of goods which we
are enabled through intelligent work.
men to produce. Our first-class. we'll
paid labor can overcome the ill-paid,
and ignorant workmen
in all markets of the world. and we
have only to maintain our position to
dictate instead Of being dictated to.
1.-The one important factor that we
require in order TO take commanding
position is American lines of steam
ships to all parts of the world. Our
could make no better in
vestment of its surplus revenue at the
present time than to devote a large
portion of 1t to the building up of
American steamship lines, either by
subsidies or by the extension of di-
rect aid to all capital that will attempt
TO carry out this project We can build
ships in America rs well as they can
but we require first of all
is, the encouragement
and assistance of the people through
the Government. We have the ore
and the timber and the skilled work.
men. and we demonstrated our ability
to build ships as fine as any that are
built on the banks Of the Clyde. The
point made by free traders against the
of American ship
building. that they can buy ships
cheaper abroad. That takes us back
to the question Of wages. We hold to-
day great advantage over the other
nations Of the world by the high wages
that we pay our working-men. If we
adopt free-trade policy rs to ships
we should loose that advantage, but if
the Government comes to the rescue
and gives the shipbuilding industry
start. the shipping question will soon
take care of itself. just as it has done
in other lines of manufacture that have
been promoted aud encouraged by
protective tariff
Colonel Conger was asked about the
section steel tariff, in which his COM
Pany was much interested some two or
three years ago.. and said: up to within
four or five years we had large dealings
with firms in Sheffield. Eng. They
were able to lay down section steel in
this country cheaper than it can be
made here. but the tariff was put up
and now we buy all our steel at Pitts
burSh. just before General Garfield
was elected President he was in our
place and went through our works.
where he made many inquiries about
affecting the tariff question.
l was in the White House some time
after his Inauguration, and he told me